The post provides an in-depth analysis of the user-mode anti-cheat system—specifically Treyarch Anti-Cheat (TAC)—used in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. It covers various anti-cheat mechanisms including Arxan protection, runtime executable decryption, API hook detection, debug register checks, and the TAC's methods for
Table of contents
ArxanRuntime Executable DecryptionExecutable ChecksumsJmp ObfuscationEntrypoint ObfuscationPointer EncryptionRuntime API Export LookupHow can we figure out what these hashes are?Debug RegistersHere’s how TAC checks for debug registers.Driver Signing EnforcementHow does TAC exit the process?Detecting Cheat LoggingDetecting VisualsWhat about External Cheats?What about tools like Cheat Engine?Anti-Sig ScanningAnti-DebuggingMonitoring Network TrafficEncrypted Custom SyscallsDetecting Anti-Debugger-Hiding AttemptsCreate Remote Thread BlockingDumping Exception HandlersMystery Tech?The EndSort: